It’s hard to believe that the Teams are now two thirds of the way through their 6-week missions!
I’m so proud of them. Shortly after 6 am today (Saturday) 2 of the Teams were already texting me sending in their photos for this blog post. Most young adults are not up at 6am on a summer Saturday morning 😊
The week has been pretty manic around here. I’ve been fielding calls and texts from 6 Teams spread across five provinces, my dear friend and former Day Camp Team Leader, Anna (who creates our “It’s Showtime!” Puppet shows) was staying with us for a few days with her 2 small boys (they’ll be back tomorrow for three more days before taking the train home to Halifax), my boarder who is taking French courses has also just started a two-week holiday break, my exuberant 6-month old Lab puppy is bouncing around trying to chase squirrels and 2 workmen spent several days installing a new screen door, reshingling the porch roof and repairing some cracks in the foundations which meant that for two days everyone has had to traipse in and out through the garage because we can’t use the front door. AGH!!!
I’ve since painted the inside of the new back door but Mario (the carpenter) is buying exterior paint for the outside so I cannot complete the job.
But most of you have checked into this post to read about the TEAMS so let’s get started…
Team1- has spent the week in Brossard, south of the city. The clergy, Chris Belle, is a Day Camp “groupie” par excellence! He has been a Camper, Local Helper, Team Member, Team Leader and Training Team Leader and I’m sure if he wasn’t now a fulltime priest and married with two children he would still be doing Travelling Team 😊. Franc and Rachelle led a Friday closing yesterday afternoon and then began a 17-hour train trip to Campbellton New Brunswick from where they took a shuttle bus to New Carlisle, a small town on the Gaspé Coast. Franc called me at 9am today to sat they are safe and sound at the priest’s house and were soon going to be picked up by their billets.
Team2- Danna and Geneviève were in Caledon East Ontario this week. It was the first time this community had hosted our Program but the priest was previously at a church in Saskatchewan that held a Day Camp. This week there were 20 Campers and the priest wrote that they were “having a GREAT week!” always music to my ears 😊. This afternoon they move on to Orillia, where they will be joining up with Team 3 whose third week camp was cancelled.
Team 3-had a second week of very young campers at Shanty Bay, near Barrie Ontario. They seem to have made things work smoothly and sounded in good spirits after holding their Closing Gathering yesterday afternoon. They have enjoyed staying in a house looking out over the Bay 😊
Team 4- was on it’s own this week after doubling up with Team 5 in Week1. They lead a second week of Day Camps at St. Luke’s Regina, again with 50 Campers! Being a 2-person instead of a 4-person Team had its challenges and I was asked to pray for good health and energy for Mikaela and Mariejoy. The evaluation for the coordinator has already been sent in and she spoke highly of the girls’ abilities. I’m pretty proud of them too 😊.
Team 5- has had a rough week. They were pumped to be serving at Gordon’s First Nation and were warmly welcomed by Rev. Dale. However they soon discovered that a big sports event was running at the same time as the Day Camp, and drawing a lot of the children, then there was a death on the Reserve which resulted in a wake and funeral both taking place in the gym where the Day Camp is held and necessitating cancelling the Program for 2 days. They also had issues getting into the building on the last two days although someone finally turned up with the key!
Fortunately Kelvin and Charisse remained positive and when I spoke to them last evening Kelvin felt that the campers who had attended got a lot out of the experience and really connected in a deep way with the Team. Go Kelvin and Charisse!!!!!!!
Team 6- held their Week 2 Day Camp in Delta BC. This is the second year a Team has served at St. Cuthbert’s although the Rector, Paul, has a. long history with CTM from the years he spent pastoring in Montreal. As I was typing this post I received a photo from Paul of the chasuble the Campers and helpers had made for him. He said that washing everyone’s feet afterwards took ages. Ha! Annie, Miguel and Melina are now enjoying a wonderful Saturday off exploring Vancouver with day passes on the sky train. WOW!!!
And that’s all the Teams!!!
Just to round things off let’s close with a recipe. It’s definitely salad weather around here, as we are, at present, under a heat warning. One evening this week we enjoyed…
Chicken Salad with Oranges and Bananas, very refreshing on a hot night!
- 1 boneless chicken breast
- 1tsp. olive oil
- 2 oranges
- 4 slices crisp fried bacon
- 2 bananas
- ½ cup roasted peanuts or almonds
- 4 green onions, shredded
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 cups baby spinach
- Fresh chives
Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the chicken over medium heat for approx. 7 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Set aside to cool then cut into bite-sized pieces. Peel and section the oranges over a large bowl, catching the juices. Slice the bananas into the bowl and add the green onions, bacon, peanuts and chicken toss together and chill for at least one hour. Just before serving fold in the mayonnaise then transfer to a serving bowl or platter lined with the spinach. Garnish with snipped chives. Serves 2-4